February 1, 2012
Vermont

Big wind: opponents are seeking moratorium

Robin Smith, Staff Writer, The Orleans Record, orleanscountyrecord.com 1 February 2012

Activists continue this week to press the Legislature to issue a moratorium on utility-scale wind projects such as the one planned for Lowell and already exists in Sheffield.

They, including those opposed to the Lowell wind project, want lawmakers, experts and communities to take some time to assess the impacts of recently constructed projects.

On Thursday, critics will take their case to the Statehouse in Montpelier on what they are calling “Ridges Are Not Renewable Day.”

Energize Vermont announced Tuesday that the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the House Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources Committee are expected to hear testimony from wildlife and water quality experts about the current impacts of the wind projects.

Also Thursday, Energize Vermont will screen a documentary in meeting room 10 at the Statehouse about the role of utility-scale wind development in Vermont that calls for an end to what Energize Vermont calls an ad hoc approach to wind energy development in Vermont.

Afterward, Energize Vermont will host a panel of wind experts and critics, including Steve Wright of Craftsbury, former commissioner of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, Ben Luce, professor of sustainability of Lyndon State College a hydrologist who critiqued impact on water runoff of the Lowell wind project.

The panel will speak at 1:30 p.m. at the Statehouse .

Also, about 30 hikers braved winter weather and several feet of snow on Lowell Mountain Sunday afternoon to attend the third open house organized by the Occupy Lowell group opposed to ridgeline wind projects.

The group also hosted a gathering afterward at the Albany school.

And this week the Lowell Mountain Group, composed of neighbors of the Lowell wind project, announced its first annual meeting Feb. 16 at the Eastside Restaurant in Newport City.

The event begins at 6 p.m. with a social time followed by dinner. The evening will feature the movie Windfall about the wind industry and a solar power specialist who will discuss off-the-grid solar electricity.

The public is welcome and asked to RSVP by Feb. 10 at 802-744-2465 or by email at irishhill@pshift.com.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/02/01/big-wind-opponents-are-seeking-moratorium/